Tilt-up and precast concrete wall panels are used to construct typically commercial buildings, such as warehouses and factories. Such construction entails building a rectangular concrete form, from on site in the case of tile up and off site in the case of precast, mounting steel reinforcing rebar or other reinforcement in the form, filling the form with concrete, and after the concrete cures, lifting the resulting concrete panel into place creating a wall section. Numerous wall sections generally are fabricated and attached together to frame members of the building to construct complete walls. Utility conduits may be embedded within the wall sections as needed to provide electricity and plumbing.
In traditional concrete wall panel construction, the forms into which the concrete is poured are usually fabricated from wood or metal at a worksite, and are on the ground adjacent to the location where the wall is formed. A high level of skill is required to assure the panels are all the correct size and configuration.
Certain problems currently exist that are addressed by the present invention. One problem is the lateral forces present with tilt-up concrete wall panels (such as those produced by a hurricane or an earthquake). Another problem is the need to resist tension forces created from shear forces from the roof diaphragm that cause the panel to overturn. While it is known to attach base plates to the wall panels and to embed prelocated vertical anchor bolts within the foundation receiving the base plates, there is a problem in obtaining precision location of the base plate on the wall panels and corresponding precision location of the bolts within the foundation so that the wall panels are precisely positioned and aligned after the wall panels are erected.